jonghyun discussing “rewind” during <the letter> concerts
i want to talk about the second video (”rewind”) that came out. it’s a video that repeats itself, you can think of it as a video where i keep on trying to test whether or not i can move on to the next action by repeating the same thing over again. the thing that inspired me was, you know really hard video games? if you play a difficult game, you know how there are times where you absolutely can’t find out whether there’s a trap somewhere unless you die in that spot? as i was playing those types of difficult video games, i felt really good watching something repeat itself.. though that’s just my personal preference. watching something repetitive.. something regular/systematic felt really nice, so i tried filming a video where i kept acting out the same scene, where if i try one thing i can move on to the next part, and if i try another thing i fail and go back to the start.
170528 the letter (night)
do you remember the second video? of course, i made the music, but.. you know how the video was really repetitive? so i was looking for some clues within that, and there was a section where i eventually get to the last plane ticket.. and the number 1155 came out, right? why is that, you ask.. the time i spent hosting the radio was 1155 days. so i’ve come from the video to visit you in this space where i can once again share those stories that are slightly personal, and playful, and mundane with all of you.. i made this kind of video to try to show that i’ve flown here in the role of the person who delivers all of your letters.
do you remember the second video? where i keep going back to the bathtub? as i prepared that video, i tried to fuse in something i’ve been hooked on recently — pictures or movements that are contained within some kind of repetitive framework, because i find them fun and enjoyable and exciting. actually, this was the starting point of this video. you know how you “die” while you’re playing video games? you know how you can die on a trip as you’re playing video games, and there are certain trips that you can’t find unless you die. then since you figured out this certain trip from the previous life, you can get through that one. but on the next trip, you die again. and you go back to the beginning and go through that trip, then another, and you go on to the third, and fourth trip. i found that sort of repetitive image exciting, so i filmed with that kind of concept in mind. uh, but if that had been the only concept, it would have been too meaningless, so i tried to think hard about how to connect it to this concert and came up with the concept where i discover numbers one by one. that number was 1155. you know how i look over the letter in the glass bottle in the end, and it becomes 1155? what number could it be? (audience: blue night!) it’s the number of days that i hosted blue night radio. i wanted to let you know that this concert has quite a lot of connections with blue night, radio, all of your stories, my stories, all these things compressed into one. so i’d like you to be aware that the songs that will be performed from here on out, and the concert sections, depend heavily on all of your participation and the way you listen to my stories.
the concept of the video itself was one where i keep repeating the same action and advance forward bit by bit, so i tried working on music that also used that kind of repetitive sound. let me explain a little what it’s about. i’m going around the room and discovering numbers, one by one. the video contains the process of finding these numbers, and the number i find at the very end is 1155. i incorporated it into the video because that number is one that has great significance for me, and has a big connection to this concert. i hosted the radio for about three years and two months, and if you add that up in days, it ends up being 1155 days. so i filmed this video with the desire to blend the communication we had through radio, and the warmth of sharing stories, into this concert. in a way, you know how you get the sense that i’m flying away in the last part of this video? that’s how i came here. so all of you have now also flown into a space that’s connected with 1155, and is warm and easy to communicate in, so i’d like to ask for lots of interest and participation from you.
trans. @sullaem
korean transcript cr. @shineshinee0525
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